These are my cherished chronicles as I go from a crazy bachelorette to a happily married woman.... and how I get by with my life's change of events!!

Saturday, 12 October 2013

How to TuTu tutorial

I have to admit, I'm not Suzie Sewer. I can barely thread a needle, never mind sewing a whole costume! A few years ago I really wanted to create the Black Swan costume. A crown, corset, dancing shoes and a tutu was required to complete it. That tutu I had in mind was to mimic a professional ballerina's tutu. What was I getting myself into?!

Well I'll tell you, I finished it alright. 12 layers and all. I wish I had someone to show me how to make a tutu when I was trying to create that one. So I had a great idea! Why don't I take step by step photos of the tutu making process during the creation on this years costume?? It's a NO SEW tutorial on how to make an easy wearing tutu.

First, you need to make your way to your fabric store of choice. Choose the tulling colours desired to create this fun tutu. I wanted a few different types of colours in mine so I didn't need as much of each colour. I suggest to get a yard of tulle in each colour for 3 or more colours, per tutu. If you are doing a solid colour tutu, get 2 1/2-3 yards depending on the length and size you're going to make.

You will also need;

-ribbon (to tie the tutu around waist)

-scissors

-measuring tape

Then unravel each colour on a flat surface (ex: I rolled it out on the floor to allow myself more room to work with). Then start on one end and keep folding up the tulling until you have the whole yard (or 2) rolled up. (Side note: this part was extremely annoying for me so if you get frustrated don't worry. So was I!)

Now I suggest to have a measuring tape or something to be used to gage the width of the strips that you will the cutting the tulle into. I set my tape measure at 4 inches and continued to cut them around that size.

Once you have all your strips, you can unravel them to see how the length suits how long you want your tutu. My strips were incredibly long so I cut mine into 4 separate pieces PER strip! I also wanted a shorter tutu so that's why I was able to get 4 pieces out of every strip.

Get your ribbon out and wrap it around the waist of the person or thing your making the tutu for. Give your ribbon some slack as you will need extra length in order to tie up the tutu when the tulling process is complete. I gave myself half an arms length on each side in order to tie it. I put it around my waist again to measure it with the extra slack. I knotted one end to mark the start of where I can start adding the tulle and knotted the end of where I will stop putting the tulle.

Next when the tulee is all cut, take one strip and fold it in half. Take the middle of the strip and place your thumb and index finger to hold its place.

Wrap it around the ribbon and pull the tulling with those 2 fingers around the ribbon.

Now you can pull the tulling through the loop you made with the middle of your strip around the ribbon.

Pull the tulling through all the way until it's made a knot around the ribbon holding it in place.

I used 4 pieces of every colour in each bunch. This allowed for the colour to be more vibrant and stand out in sections. Because the tulling is thin naturally you may want to group the same colours together to create a bolder look as I had done.

When you have knotted all your tulle strips on your ribbon, fluff your tulling out to allow it to stand out (if making a short tutu) or straighten the tulling out if creating a long tutu skirt. And there you have it......